The committee that will discuss the Tripartite Infrastructure Fund started on Tuesday in Cairo, its two-day meeting for preparing a plan for conducting mutual developmental projects in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In their past meeting in May, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the three sides agreed on establishing the Tripartite Infrastructure Fund to provide suggestions for joint infrastructure and development projects in the three nations, in line with the directives of the leaders of the three states in their expected meeting to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, there is no specified yet announced.

Construction of the GERD started in April 2011. However, Egypt has expressed concerns that the construction of the GERD could negatively affect its historic Nile water share of 55bn sq m, which it has had access to since the historic 1959 agreement between Egypt and Sudan.

They also agreed on establishing a national independence scientific research study group of the three countries to discuss ways of boosting the level of cooperation among them regarding the GERD, as well as discussing various scenarios related to the filling and operation rules of the GERD, in accordance with the principle equitable and reasonable utilisation of shared water resources, as well as prevent causing harms to each party.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia witnessed positive progress in the last weeks after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Cairo about a month ago.

During his visit to Cairo, Ahmed pledged to work together with Egypt to reach a compromise for the conflict over the GERD. Ahmed said that his country will not harm Egypt’s share of water, saying “we believe that it’s our right to benefit from the Nile’s waters, but also without harming the interests of the Egyptian people.”